Max Langenhan of Germany competes during the luge men's singles run 1 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Max Langenhan topped the men's singles luge standings after setting two track records from as many runs at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games here on Saturday.
The 26-year-old clocked 52.924 seconds in his first run and improved it to 52.902 in the second at the Cortina Sliding Center. Despite his dominant performance, Langenhan revealed he had not been in good shape due to a sore neck.
"I woke up at 4 a.m. with a stiff neck and was thinking that I might not race today," said Langenhan, a triple gold medalist at the 2025 World Championships. "Then I went to our physiotherapist and doctors, and they did an amazing job."
"The start wasn't that good, and both runs had some small mistakes, but I'm happy with a good start to the first day of the Olympics," he added. "The last training run was also close to these times, so I was confident about setting the track records. I hope to improve my neck pain and have a better start tomorrow."
Austria's Jonas Mueller and home favorite Dominik Fischnaller followed in second and third place respectively.
Germany's Felix Loch, two-time Olympic men's singles champion, struggled in both runs and finished eighth overall.
The third and fourth runs will take place on Sunday. ■
Max Langenhan of Germany competes during the luge men's singles run 1 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
Max Langenhan of Germany competes during the luge men's singles run 1 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
Bao Zhenyu of China gestures after the luge men's singles run 2 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
Kristers Aparjods of Latvia competes during the luge men's singles run 1 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
Kristers Aparjods of Latvia competes during the luge men's singles run 1 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
Leon Felderer of Italy competes during the luge men's singles run 2 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
Jonas Mueller of Austria competes during the luge men's singles run 2 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
Matthew Greiner of the United States competes during the luge men's singles run 1 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
Dominik Fischnaller of Italy competes during the luge men's singles run 1 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Ding Xu)
Bao Zhenyu of China competes during the luge men's singles at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Li Gang)
